1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus and a method that processes a video signal obtained by imaging a subject.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-011150, filed Jan. 21, 2009, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
An endoscope apparatus has been used in the industrial field. The endoscope apparatus includes a thin and long insertion portion of an endoscope. A user inserts the insertion portion into an internal space of an object to be inspected such as a jet engine or a pipe in a factory, and performs an observation of corrosion or damage of a region of the object to be inspected and various treatments thereon.
Generally, the endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope and an apparatus body to which the endoscope is connected. An imaging unit including an imaging device such as an imaging lens or a CCD is disposed in a distal end of the endoscope. The endoscope includes a thin and long insertion portion provided with an illumination unit having an LED or the like to illuminate the internal space of the object from the distal end of the endoscope. In addition, the apparatus body includes various units. In detail, the apparatus body includes electric parts, such as a driving unit for driving the imaging unit and an image processing unit for processing the image signal output from the imaging unit, and a power supply for the illumination of the light.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. S63-201618 discloses a three-dimensional measurement by using the endoscope. In detail, in a site of observation, when an endoscope image required for measurement is displayed, the endoscope image is frozen (paused), and measurement is performed by using the frozen endoscope image. Alternatively, the endoscope image required for measurement is recorded as a still image, and measurement is performed by using the still image.